August 8th - The Last Stop on Turl Street

Hello!

This will be my final blog post, and the last page in what has been an unforgettable summer. Today was mostly a travel day, but it still felt bittersweet from start to finish.

The morning began with me packing up my room, gathering my bags, and carefully hauling them down the stairs. I stopped by the porter’s lodge to hand in my keys, officially closing the door on my time at Exeter College. From there, I made my way to Gloucester Green, where I boarded a bus bound for London Gatwick. I spent most of the day with Elsie, who happened to be on the same flight as me.

Once we finally got to the airport, we went over to the bag drop (we checked in the night before) then went through security. 

After that, we needed to start thinking about lunch. We settled on a place called Nando's, a South African chicken chain. I got a chicken sandwich with peri-peri sauce, mac & cheese, and garlic bread.

After lunch, we headed to our gate and boarded the plane. My flight was pretty pleasant despite the plane being sold out. My seatmates were a friendly older couple from Deland, FL, who had just returned from a cruise in England. During the flight, I alternated between sleeping, gazing out at the clouds, and watching movies like The Amateur and Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

A nice view of the barrier islands of east coast FL

For my first meal on the plane, I ate a shepherd's pie with a quinoa salad, water, bread, cheese, crackers, soda, and a chocolate Oreo ganache dessert. 

My second meal was a coconut chicken roll with orange juice and water. I also had some pretzels and coffee. 

When we finally landed, it was the usual routine: disembark, collect luggage, go through customs… and just like that, I was back in Florida.

Over this summer, I had the privilege of living at Exeter College, just off Turl Street, in a room located directly below where J.R.R. Tolkien once lived as a student. All my classes were held at Jesus College, right across the street. My heartfelt thanks go to both colleges for their warmth and hospitality during my time in Oxford.

And finally, thank you, the reader, once again for joining me on this journey. Whether you’re family, a friend, a classmate, a colleague, or someone who just happened to stumble across these posts, I’m grateful you came along for the ride. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’ll carry these memories with me always.

Goodbye — and until the next adventure.